Which Fat is the Right Fat?
Trans-Fatty Acids Lurk Literally Everywhere
Cholesterol is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease
The diets of Pan Asian and Mediterranean people,
which I believe are two of the healthiest, are naturally rich in omega-3 fatty
acids. These are also known as essential fatty acids (EFAs), because it is
essential that you consume these fats; your body can't make them, and they are
vital for a healthy life.
Meanwhile, most of us in the U.S. have been cutting omega-3s
from our diet. Today, we get roughly 20 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3s,
and what we need is closer to a 1:1 ratio. (Omega-6 fats are abundant in
conventional oils such as safflower, corn, and soybean.) In fact, I believe that
one of the reasons we have so many serious health problems today is because
processed omega-6s in excess can be harmful to health.
The trick is to supplement your diet with omega-3s. Omega-3
EFAs are found primarily in fish and certain plant foods. The best source of
these EFAs, bar none, is cold-water fish such as Atlantic salmon [link to salmon
product page] and mackerel. Fish contain higher amounts of docosahexaenoic acid
(DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) than plant sources. Both substances are
key building blocks of tissue, and both can be readily converted into "good"
prostaglandins — hormone-like compounds that reduce platelet stickiness and
inflammation. You'd need to consume about 12 times as much flax oil as fish oil
to get the same benefits. Top of Page
Fishing for Sources of Fish Oil
I realize, however, that it's not possible for most people to
eat fish every day. That's why I recommend that you take fish oil supplements.
Make sure the oil is from a reputable supplier and is harvested from fish that
swim in deep, cold ocean waters. There's far too much contamination in the bulk
of the fish supply these days for me to be comfortable with anything caught or
raised near land.
Which Fat is the Right Fat?
Part II: Fabulous Flax Oil
Pure flax oil is the world's most abundant
source of omega-3 fatty acids, containing an amazing 55 percent by weight. As
such, flax oil offers incredible health benefits that should not be discounted.
The reason I prefer fish oil is simply that flax does not contain EPA and DHA,
two key nutrients that go straight to your head and your heart, literally, to
promote health in both areas and throughout your body.
Instead, flax oil contains alpha linolenic acid (LNA), which
your liver must break down to form EPA and DHA. There has been debate about
whether LNA effectively converts to EPA and DHA. Research is showing that it
does, though blood levels of these nutrients are still much lower than with fish
oil. Top of Page
Flaxseed: Nearly Perfect Food
A better way I like to incorporate flax into my diet is by
eating ground flaxseed.
And yes, you must grind the seeds to release the oil. Otherwise, they'll pass
through you, undigested.
I recommend getting a coffee grinder and dedicating it to
flaxseed, because you don't want to mix ground coffee and flax. It's not a taste
sensation! Also, you must use the flax within hours of grinding it. Once exposed
to air, the oil in ground flax goes rancid quickly (which is why flax oil must
be refrigerated).
You can sprinkle ground flax on just about anything - soups,
stews, fruit you name it. You can also cook with flaxseed at lower temperatures.
The beauty of flaxseed is that you get significant amounts of
protein and fiber in a tiny package. A typical 2 oz. serving (1/4 cup) contains
approximately 11 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein.
The exact amounts will vary with the quality of the flaxseed
and how it's grown. That's why I particularly like golden flax grown in Canada:
The nutrient content of the soil tends to be richer and better suited to growing
pesticide-free flax. Analysis shows that it contains:
- 28 mg calcium
- 32 mg magnesium
- 166 mg phosphorous
- 68 mg potassium (all figures are per serving, according
to testing by an independent lab).
Whether you go with fish, flax, or both, you can't go wrong. Top of Page
Which Fat is the Right Fat?
Part III: Fats 101
Fat is a chemical combination of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Saturated fats, found in all animal products and in
tropical oils like palm and coconut, contain a high proportion of hydrogen
atoms. In fact, these fats are saturated with hydrogen, hence the name.
As you probably know, saturated fats threaten your
cardiovascular system because they're converted to cholesterol in the body.
They'll raise cholesterol levels significantly if you eat them in excess.
But the ones I'm most concerned about these days are trans-,
or hydrogenated, fats. These are vegetable oils with an extra hydrogen molecule
artificially added. This addition makes them solid at room temperature and, most
important to manufacturers, extends the shelf life of any food containing them.
Although trans-fatty acids aren't saturated, they act even
worse than saturated fats when consumed, making them killers in the blood
stream. They raise blood levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and lipoprotein(a), a
toxic blood factor.
Remember, total cholesterol is not your biggest
cardiovascular enemy; oxidized LDL, Lp(a) and other members of the toxic blood
syndrome gang are. Top of Page
Trans-Fatty Acids Lurk Literally Everywhere
Most of the foods in boxes and bags on grocery store shelves
contain trans-fats. They're in packaged cookies, crackers, microwave popcorn,
frozen foods like French fries and fish sticks, and commercial baked goods. Many
margarine products, non-dairy creamers, and egg substitutes also contain
trans-fats, yet you won't see them listed on ingredient labels.
The Food and Drug Administration is working to change that,
but the issue has bogged down in bureaucracy. Until trans-fats are exposed for
the villains they are, you need to look for words like "partially hydrogenated"
or "vegetable shortening" on ingredient lists. If you see either of these
phrases listed on the label of a food product you want to buy, look for another
product. I avoid these like the plague.
By the way, I'm not a big fan of polyunsaturated fats either.
These are found primarily in canola oil and soft-tub margarine. The paradox is
that polyunsaturated fats will indeed lower LDL levels when substituted for
saturated fats, but they can lower HDL levels, too (i.e., your "good
cholesterol"). In addition, polyunsaturated fats are easily oxidized, making
your body more vulnerable to degenerative disease — cataracts, Alzheimer's,
atherosclerosis, even cancer.
So when my patients ask me whether they should use butter,
margarine, or canola oil, I advise them butter, olive, almond, or flax oil only. Top of Page
Cholesterol is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease
By Ron Rosedale, MD
Cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease or any disease. If it
becomes oxidized it can irritate/inflame tissues in which it is lodged in, such
as the endothelium (lining of the arteries). This would be one of numerous
causes of chronic inflammation that can injure the lining of arteries. However,
many good fats are easily oxidized such as omega-3 fatty acids, but it does not
mean that you should avoid it at all costs.
Common sense would indicate that we should avoid the oxidation (rancidity) of
cholesterol and fatty acids and not get rid of important life-giving molecules.
Using the same conventional medical thinking that is being used for cholesterol
would lead one to believe that doctors should reduce the risk of Alzheimer's
disease by taking out everybody's brain.
In fact, cholesterol is being transported to tissues as part of an
inflammatory response that is there to repair damage.
The fixation on cholesterol as a major cause of heart disease defies the last
15 years of science and deflects from real causes such as the damage (via
glycation) that sugars such as glucose and fructose inflict on tissues,
including the lining of arteries, causing chronic inflammation and resultant
plaque. Top of Page
Insulin &
Leptin Resistance
Hundreds of excellent scientific articles have linked insulin resistance and
more recently leptin resistance to cardiovascular disease much more strongly
than cholesterol, and they are in fact at least partially responsible for
cholesterol abnormalities. For instance, insulin and leptin resistance result in
"small dense" LDL particles and a greater number of particles.
This is much more important than the total cholesterol number. Because of
particle size shift to small and dense, the total LDL cholesterol could still be
low even though the number of particles and the density of the particles is
greater. Small, dense LDL particles can squeeze between the cells lining the
inside of the arteries, the "gap junction" of the endothelium, where they can
get struck and potentially oxidize, turn rancid, and cause inflammation of the
lining of the arteries and plaque formation.
Importantly, many solid scientific studies have shown a mechanistic, causal
effect of elevated insulin and leptin on heart and vascular disease, whereas
almost all studies with cholesterol misleadingly only show an association.
Association does not imply cause. For instance, something else may be causing
lipid abnormalities such as elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and also
causing heart disease.
This "something else" is improper insulin and leptin signaling. Similarly,
sugar does not cause diabetes; sugar is just listening to orders. Improper
insulin and leptin signaling is the cause of diabetes. Likewise, cholesterol
does not cause heart disease, but improper metabolic signals including improper
signals to cholesterol (causing it to oxidize) and perhaps to the liver that
manufactures the cholesterol, will cause heart and vascular disease and
hypertension.
Removing cholesterol will do nothing to improve the underlying problems, the
real roots of chronic disease, which will always have to do with improper
communication, and the generals of metabolic communication are insulin and
leptin. They are really what must be treated to reverse heart disease, diabetes,
osteoporosis, obesity, and to some extent aging itself. Top
of Page
Cholesterol;
Wrongly Accused?
Before we can begin to talk about the real cause and effective treatment for
heart and blood vessel disease, we must first look at what is known, or I should
say what we think we know. The first thing that comes to mind when one hears
about heart disease is almost always cholesterol. Cholesterol and heart disease
has been almost synonymous for the last half-century. Cholesterol has been
portrayed as the Darth Vader to our arteries and our heart.
The latest recommendation given by a so-called panel of "experts" recommends
that a person's cholesterol be as low as possible, in fact to a level so low
they say it cannot be achieved by diet, exercise, or any known lifestyle
modification. Therefore, they say cholesterol-lowering drugs; particularly the
so-called "statins" need to be given to anyone at high risk of heart disease.
Since heart disease is the number one killer in this country that would include
most adults and even many children. The fact that this might add to the $26
billion in sales of statin drugs last year I'm sure played no role in their
recommendations. Or did it? Top of Page
No Such Thing as Good and
Bad Cholesterol
Because the correlation of total cholesterol with heart disease is so weak,
many years ago a stronger correlation was sought. It was found that there is
so-called "good cholesterol" called HDL, and that the so-called "bad
cholesterol" was LDL. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, and LDL stands
for low-density lipoprotein. Notice please that LDL and HDL are lipoproteins --
fats combined with proteins. There is only one cholesterol. There is no such
thing as a good or a bad cholesterol. Cholesterol is just cholesterol. It
combines with other fats and proteins to be carried through the bloodstream,
since fat and our watery blood do not mix very well.
Fatty substances therefore must be shuttled to and from our tissues and cells
using proteins. LDL and HDL are forms of proteins and are far from being just
cholesterol. In fact we now know there are many types of these fat and protein
particles. LDL particles come in many sizes and large LDL particles are not a
problem. Only the so-called small dense LDL particles can potentially be a
problem, because they can squeeze through the lining of the arteries and if they
oxidize, otherwise known as turning rancid, they can cause damage and
inflammation. Thus, you might say that there is "good LDL" and "bad LDL." Also,
some HDL particles are better than others. Knowing just your total cholesterol
tells you very little. Even knowing your LDL and HDL levels do not tell you very
much.
A mistake that is rarely made in the hard-core sciences such as physics seems
to be frequently made in medicine. This is confusing correlation with cause.
There may be a weak correlation of elevated cholesterol with heart attacks,
however this does not mean it is the cholesterol that caused the heart attack.
Certainly gray hair is correlated with getting older; however one could hardly
say that the gray hair caused one to get old. Using hair dye to reduce the gray
hair would not really make you any younger. Neither it appears would just
lowering your cholesterol.
Perhaps something else is causing both the gray hair and aging. Even if
elevated cholesterol were significant and heart disease (which I question)
perhaps something else is causing the elevated cholesterol and also causing the
heart disease.
Let's look little more at cholesterol or, as Paul Harvey was fond of saying,
"the rest of the story." First and foremost, cholesterol is a vital component of
every cell membrane on Earth. In other words, there is no life on Earth they can
live without cholesterol. That will automatically tell you that, in of itself,
it cannot be evil. In fact it is one of our best friends. We would not be here
without it. No wonder lowering cholesterol too much increases one's risk of
dying. Cholesterol also is a precursor to all of the steroid hormones. You
cannot make estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and a host of other vital
hormones without cholesterol. Top of Page |
